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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: lean · wind · dip · cell · toast · stock · degree · mine

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. wind — moving air
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. cell — in biology
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. toast — bread
  9. wind — moving air
  10. mine — for digging
  11. degree — temperature
  12. cell — a phone
  13. stock — shares
  14. degree — from a university
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. stock — goods
  17. lean — thin
  18. dip — to sink
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. lean — to bend
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. degree — an amount

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com